Andrews Air Force Base, MD (CNN) - The white 747 with blue stripes and adorned with a flag landed at Andrews Air Force Base Tuesday afternoon, bringing a president to Washington. But this time it was an Air China jet stopping in Air Force One's usual parking spot, to begin an official state visit by President Hu.

The real story of the Hu visit will be the serious topics up for discussion away from carefully choreographed ceremonies: trade, currency, and security. Each is an issue without easy answers. But even with one of America's most complicated relationships, policy talks start with protocol.FULL POST

(CNN) - Sen. Joe Lieberman, the independent from Connecticut, is planning to announce Wednesday that he will not seek re-election, according to two knowledgeable Democratic sources.

The move by the former Democratic vice presidential candidate could add even more murkiness to the party's hopes of hanging on to its slim majority in the Senate in the 2012 election, especially coming on the heels of Sen. Kent Conrad's, D-North Dakota, that he will not seek re-election at the end of this term.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - A top Republican has come out against efforts by his party to repeal President Obama's health care reform bill currently underway in the House.

Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, said at a press conference Tuesday at the Bipartisan Policy Center - an organization he chairs with former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, among others - that the law should stand, according to The Huffington Post.FULL POST

(CNN)–Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is confident about a Democratic majority in 2012. In an interview with CNN's "The Situation Room" anchor Wolf Blitzer, Pelosi reflected on the 2010 midterm elections, her ambition to move forward, and the possibility of a future Democratic majority.

"It's no use rehashing what happened before. We lost tremendous talent in our caucus and I'm concerned about that...We'll be back."

Pelosi also revealed details in the interview, which aired Tuesday, about her recent visit with Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who remains hospitalized in serious condition in Tucson, Arizona.

She spoke of emotion in the room when she visited at the invitation of Gifford's husband astronaut Mark Kelly stating "his view is that... she was so happy we were there, she had to open her eyes to make sure it was true…it was personal…But when she opened her eyes she gravitated right to her husband."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Continuing a presidential tradition of traveling to the heartland of America after delivering his State of the Union address, President Obama will fly to Manitowoc, WI on Wednesday January 26. Presidents have historically visited politically important states following the annual speech in order to highlight themes and programs outlined in the address.

Manitowoc, WI is located on Lake Michigan ninety minutes drive north of Milwaukee. The mayor Justin Nickels is a mere 24 years old. He was 22 when elected to the post.

Washington (CNN) - At least eight Republican state legislators will gather on the steps of the South Carolina State House Wednesday to launch an effort to draft Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, into the 2012 presidential race.

The announcement comes on the heels of a national "Draft Pence" effort - a group called "America's President Committee" - launched Monday by former Reagan administration official Ralph Benko and former Kansas Rep. Jim Ryun.FULL POST

(CNN) - R. Sargent Shriver, who was responsible for launching the U.S. Peace Corps after marrying into the Kennedy family and joining John F. Kennedy's White House, has died, a family source told CNN.

Shriver, whose full name was Robert Sargent Shriver, was 95. He had suffered for years from Alzheimer's disease. After overseeing the Peace Corps launch in the early 1960s, Shriver went on to serve subsequent presidential administrations and kept up his activism throughout his life, becoming a chief architect of President Lyndon B. Johnson's war on poverty and later heading the Special Olympics, which was
founded by his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

(CNN) – Alabama Republican Gov. Robert Bentley is kicking off his first term in office with a bit of controversy, telling a church audience Monday that he only considers Christians to be his "brothers and sisters."

"Now I will have to say that, if we don't have the same daddy, we're not brothers and sisters," he told parishioners at a Baptist church in Montgomery Monday shortly after being sworn in. "So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Politics is serious business - but not all of the time. From the halls of Congress to the campaign trail to the international stage, there's always something that gets a laugh or a second glance.

Palin will 'throw 'em all in jail'

Sarah Palin has been a polarizing political figure - popular with conservatives, a villain for those on the left and even musicians. Two Palin supporters/amateur musicians are singing about their love for the former governor of Alaska to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic."Full Story

Washington (CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton came to Chicago on Tuesday to give a strong endorsement to his one-time aide Rahm Emanuel, who is the frontrunner in a heated primary race to determine who will be the next mayor.

"You need a big person for the job. Now Rahm is not even six feet tall. He probably weighs about 150 pounds...but in all the ways that matters he is a very big person for this job," Clinton told a crowd of several hundred.FULL POST